He is the laid-back Aussie surfer who has put England’s attacking game on the crest of a wave.
Ireland outsmarted, France obliterated and 10 tries scored in the opening two rounds. You have to go back to the end of the Clive Woodward era in 2004 to find a better start to the Championship.
And at the heart of that expansion is attack consultant Scott Wisemantel, the 48-year-old drafted in by Eddie Jones last summer.
Scott Wisemantel is England's attack coach brought in by Eddie Jones with instant success
This season Wisemantel has been challenging defenders with swimming noodles under the high ball. His charges in Montpellier remember being made to train wearing boxing gloves to sharpen up technique, and he once caused consternation by inviting Australia players to nominate which team-mate they would eat in an emergency.
He’s clearly a survivor. England head coach Jones has burned his way through a dozen back-room staff in his tenure but there’s a deep respect between these two men going back more than 15 years.
The players’ verdict is equally overwhelming. They say Wisemantel is ‘a genius’ who they want to work hard for and who expects them to fire every shot on the field.
Then when it’s all over he’ll revert to type and become a ‘Coastie’, a beach-loving inhabitant of Northern New South Wales from the surfing hotspot of Lennox Head.
‘If he spent any more time surfing when he’s back here, he’d have gills,’ said Justin Harrison, the former Australia lock who has coached alongside him. ‘He’ll have a can of beer in a stubby holder beside a barbecue with his kids, holding a surfboard having just got out. That’s Wisey when he’s not on the sideline telling blokes what to do.
‘He’s one of the quiet achievers in world rugby. He doesn’t seek to place himself in the middle of anything. He’s the quintessential coach who’s there to get the best out of those around him.’
England have scored 10 tries in the opening two rounds with Jonny May in devastating form
There’s a deep respect between Eddie Jones and Wisemantel going back more than 15 years
Wisemantel was a rugby league star. Since 1999, his coaching odyssey has taken him to clubs in Japan and France via the Waratahs
